Born in Osaka in 1969, Genta Hayashi 林源太 graduated from Kyoto City University of Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Lacquer in Japan, in 1992. He completed the Graduate Studies in Lacquering in 1994 and set up a workshop in Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto. His first solo exhibition took place at Osaka Contemporary Craft Gallery as early as in 1996. Since 1998 he has moved the workshop to Toyonaka City, Osaka Prefecture. Hayashi’s craft making has been frequently featured by the media and appeared in TV programmes such as NHK.

 

Genta Hayashi cultivated the love of art and craft at a very young age. He is interested in the three-dimensional form in his lacquer creation. In the world of lacquer making, it involves two craft disciplines - woodworks and lacquer.  He is one of the very few lacquer practitioners who can master both the skills.  

 

 “From the desire to create the shape that I envision, I make everything from wood carving to lacquer coating, and I make it all by myself. I aim to make more versatile and contemporary lacquerware and incorporate traditional techniques handed down from the Edo period, which I have been studying since graduate school. Furthermore, I would like to create works close to the users' hearts, from functional lacquerware that are used in everyday life to more exquisite lacquerware that can be used with loved ones on special occasions.”